1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to therapeutic pillows and specifically pillows designed to alleviate pressure on certain portions of the head and neck. Conventional sleeping pillows are typically of a generally three dimensional rectangular shape and stuffed with or made from some soft, resilient material or material with memory such as foam rubber. When in use, conventional pillows make no specific accommodation for ears or head and neck curvature, which can exacerbate cramping, discomfort and earaches or increase the pain of recovery from lobe or cartilage piercings. Therefore, other pillows have been designed with the objective of preventing the problems of the conventional pillow.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been a number of patents granted for therapeutic pillows. Some include ridges for supporting a person""s neck and/or top of the head. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,006,380 and 5, 926,880 to Sramek provide for a pillow constructed such that it includes a central depression for the head and its contours can be adjusted for the individual user by placement of shims. The top surface claims a small downward slope from the center to the sides. Depressions for the receipt of ears are in the top portion of these pillows but the shape, depth and placement of these ear depressions from the front edge of the pillow are not specified or discussed.
Another patent for a therapeutic pillow includes intersecting troughs in which ears, neck and the head rest. (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,231 to Wang). Wang provides troughs which act to lessen pressure on the ear, but do not provide a way for the ear to be substantially without pressure. And, although pressure on the ear may be somewhat alleviated, pressure on certain other parts of the face are disproportionately increased. Still others contemplate holes or cutouts from the edge of the pillow to its middle area in which some portion of the head or face rests (See U.S. Des. Pat. No. 256,728 to Allen and U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,906 to LaCour.) One negative aspect of pillows with cutouts is that the cutouts markedly weaken the pillow""s structure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,448 to Boyd also provides for a solid foam body with cutouts through the body of the pillow. Boyd claims a pillow of xe2x80x9csubstantially rectangularxe2x80x9d shape and does not contemplate any contour for the neck and head. The disclosure also does not address the size or shape of the holes relative to reducing pain in the ear.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a pillow which allows a person to sleep comfortably supine or on either side without causing pain to the ear;
It is a further object of this invention to provide a pillow designed specifically for persons healing from ear or cartilage piercings;
It is a further object of this invention to provide a very affordable pillow of simple and durable design, preferably of one piece construction;
It is an additional objective to provide a pillow which facilitates a variety of sleeping positions and the transitions therebetween.
The present invention is a pillow specifically designed to be simple, yet effective, in its prevention of ear pain resulting from laying the side of one""s head on a pillow, especially after piercing the ear cartilage or lobes. One feature of the pillow is that it encompasses gentle curvatures to echo those of the neck and head in any sleeping position.
A further feature of the invention comprises the two carefully shaped and placed recesses for ears in the top surface of the pillow. Due to the placement and shape of the recesses, when a sleeping person with a sore ear lays on the pillow and turns to either side, the sleeper""s position adjusts itself to find the recess for the ear to avoid pain.
An additional feature of the present invention is that the design of the pillow leaves the entire ear free of any surface pressure or even tactile contact while at the same time the remainder of the pillow provides comfort for the head and neck whether the sleeper is supine or on his side.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated from the following description. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which are provided for illustration of the preferred embodiment. However, such embodiment does not represent the full scope of the invention. The subject matter which the inventor does regard as his invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of this specification.